The Women Who Were Almost Meghan Markle's Maid Of Honor
When Kate Middleton got married back in April 2011, her sister, Pippa Middleton, served as her maid of honor. Did Meghan Markle's sister do the same? Hmm, that would be a big fat no — for multiple reasons. While some of Meghan's family, including her parents, received invitations, her half-sister Samantha Grant did not. And, according to her since deleted tweets (via Fox News), she's less than pleased.
"Smoke and mirrors cannot hide the elephant in the room," she wrote, "Out of respect, tradition, and humanitarianism, the Markles should be invited if 2000 complete strangers are invited." Grant continued by listing off all those in the Markle family that have been excluded: the half-sisters' uncle, brother, a supposed best friend, nephews, and, of course, Grant herself. Although Meghan's sibling is pretty pissed, she shouldn't be too surprised given the women have been estranged for some time.
Even if the sisters were close, Grant would likely not have been her maid of honor. Kensington Palace confirmed to Cosmopolitan that Meghan couldn't bring herself to pick just one person, and so she didn't pick any. Here are the women who were nearly chosen.
Travel buddy Jessica Mulroney
Meghan may be engaged to a prince, but that certainly doesn't mean she's ditched her friends. In fact, a month or so after Meghan and Harry met, Meghan went on a girls-only vacation to the Amalfi coast with one of her closest friends, Jessica Mulroney, Express reported.
The two met when Meghan was filming the television show Suits, and they've basically been besties ever since. As a stylist, Mulroney helped up Meghan's wardrobe game, a mutual friend explained to Express. "Meghan adores Jessica, not just as a friend but also as someone whose taste and style are impeccable," she elaborated. Both women have a shared interest in yoga, Pilates, and philanthropy. Oh, and they're both avid dog lovers — aww.
These days, Mulroney is also a wedding planner, which has almost certainly came in handy for her bestie — what with planning her nuptials to a prince and all.
Friend of three years, Priyanka Chopra
Less than a month before the royal wedding date, actress Priyanka Chopra confirmed to Us Weekly that she will be in attendance at Harry and Meghan's big day. Sure, she won't be the maid of honor, but it's obvious the two women are pretty close.
"I've known Meghan for three years and I'm so happy the way the world has responded to her because as long as I've known her... she is a relatable young woman of the world today," Chopra said of her friend. She also went on to declare Meghan an "out of the box" thinker, an activist, ambitious, and even said she feels the world would benefit from more role models like Meghan. Now that's a good friend.
Chopra may have even gotten a sneak peek at what we were all dying to see: Meghan's wedding dress. When interviewed by Andy Cohen, she was asked if Meghan cried when she "said yes to the dress." Although Chopra neither confirmed nor denied what she knew, she smiled from ear to ear. Tell us everything you know, Chopra!
Absolute bestie Lindsay Jill Roth
If Harry sees Meghan anything like how Lindsay Jill Roth sees her, it's no wonder he proposed! "I don't know many people who are as generous and supportive as Meg is," Roth dished to People about her best friend. "I think people assume that when someone gains notoriety that they change," she continued, "but she's still the same girl I met years ago, with the same values and priorities." So sweet! Roth went on to describe Meghan as selfless to the magazine. And for someone that has known the bride-to-be for over 15 years, that says a lot.
The women met during their freshman-year literature class at Northwestern University. Even if they're not geographically close, Roth said they often text each other "the same thing at the same time." Meghan was even Roth's maid of honor at her wedding back in late summer 2016. Roth would've certainly made an awesome matron of honor at the upcoming royal wedding.
Style icon and friend Olivia Palermo
When Good Housekeeping asked Meghan to share some of her ultimate style icons, she didn't have to think long before coming up with an answer. "I always say Gwyneth Paltrow, but it's changing," she told the magazine (via PopSugar). She explained how her fashion began to evolve as she started taking more risks in her life. "I love how Miranda Kerr dresses — a bit more playful. And my friend Olivia Palermo — I mean, she's everyone's style crush."
It doesn't seem Meghan knows either Paltrow or Kerr personally, but Palermo is named as a friend. It must be pretty amazing to be personally acquainted with one of your style icons and, of course, helpful for deciding on the perfect wedding look.
Although there hasn't been any word regarding whether or not Palermo was privy to a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Meghan's wedding dress, Meghan definitely picked something phenomenal — and stylish — with or without her style crush's help.
Gal pal and former costar Abigail Spencer
Everyone should have themselves a close friend like Abigail Spencer. Meghan and Spencer met on the set of Suits when the show first began in 2011. While working long hours with the same people day in and day out could prove to be challenging for some, it worked out well — really well — for these ladies.
"Meghan Markle is one of the loveliest human beings on the planet, in the world," Spencer gushed to People about her friend. Concerning Meghan's engagement to Harry, Spencer expressed her excitement over the rest of the world getting to see Meghan the way she sees her, and feels her former costar is well-suited — Suited, get it? — to become a member of the royal family. "She's going to have a great moment to change the world," she told People, "If anyone can do it, it can be her." We're not crying, you're crying!
Suits sister wives Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty
Abigail Spencer wasn't the only woman Meghan bonded with during her seven-year run on Suits. Costars Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty also became close with the then-actress. Back when Meghan was still running her blog, The Tig, she wrote about her inspiring costars. In particular, the women's sage advice. According to one of the posts on her now-defunct site (via People), Torres and Rafferty encouraged Meghan to pick herself up when she was in a funk. She even called the women her "Suits sister wives" and the "stylish wise ones."
It seems Meghan may have often looked to her female costars for their great guidance. Although she ultimately couldn't remember if it was Torres or Rafferty that interrupted Meghan's self-lamenting by saying, "Hey! That's my friend you're talking about. Be nice to her," both friends undoubtedly shared the sentiment.
When Rafferty learned of Meghan and Harry's engagement, she was thrilled for her buddy. "It's very exciting," Rafferty told the Associated Press. She added, "And I'm very happy for her."
Confidante Serena Williams
Imagine if Serena Williams were Meghan's maid of honor. That's wedding goals right there. Although Meghan ultimately couldn't decide on just one friend, it's conceivable that Williams would've had a role in the wedding party.
According to Meghan's now-defunct site The Tig (via Stylist), the two are pretty close friends."We hit it off immediately, taking pictures, laughing through the flag football game we were both playing in, and chatting — not about tennis or acting, but about all the good old fashioned girly stuff," Meghan said of Williams.
Their similar interests — including their love of fashion and, believe it or not, hot sauce — were only added bonuses. Meghan attributes their deep connection to a shared "endless ambition." Not long after meeting, Williams also became Meghan's "confidante" and someone Meghan would text and meet for lunch. She'd even support Williams when she was busy crushing tennis matches. It seems these two are pretty inseparable!
Longtime friend Janina Gavankar
Before Meghan and Harry's relationship became serious and went public, Meghan had social media accounts like the rest of us. According to what a royal source told ABC News, Meghan was the one who made the decision to close and delete her various accounts when dating a member of the royal family. Though, with other royals having an aversion to personal social media accounts, you've got to wonder how much of it was really up to Meghan. Either way, the internet is forever so we still have some snippets of Meghan's Instagram ghost. And really, her posts just make us love her more.
When sharing a photo of of Janina Gavankar, Meghan added the caption (via Style Bistro): "Oh how I love seeing my long time friend @janina in Atlanta. Couldn't be prouder of how far we've come, and couldn't be more grateful for being able to share every step of it with you." Meghan went on to say the two had been friends for 15 years. That must be one awesome relationship!
Who Meghan chose instead
Since Meghan wasn't able to choose one friend to appoint as maid of honor, does that mean all of her BFFs were bridesmaids instead? You'd think so, but no. While a spokesperson for Kensington Palace did confirm to Cosmopolitan that Meghan's friends were "actively involved in helping her prepare and will be there with her to celebrate on the day," all of her bridesmaids were actually kids.
It may sound odd to us Americans, but British weddings — at least British royal weddings — attach a different meaning to the word "bridesmaid." Essentially, royal bridesmaids are what we'd call flower girls in the States. So, having a bridal party made up of children isn't so strange after all.
The bridal party was made up of four page boys and six bridesmaids — including Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Having been in their Aunt Pippa's wedding in spring 2017, another royal wedding was probably NBD for the young prince and princess. It was, however, a huge deal to us.